NCWA News

DALLAS - Championship Week begins this weekend at nine locations around the country. The road to earning on of the 490 qualifying spots in the NCWA Men's National Championships starts with the conference qualifiers, as all nine of the NCWA conferences are in action.

Liberty University's men's wrestling team got snowed in Allentown, Pa., after Saturday night's dual match at Muhlenberg College when six inches fell on northern Pennsylvania. On the mat, the Flames used the snowball effect to roll over the NCAA Division III Mules, 34-8, improving to 11-1 on the year in dual-meet competition.

Ross Graham of The Apprentice School has been named the USCAA Wrestler of the Week for the week of Feb. 11. At the USCAA Wrestling National Invitational, Graham pinned all three of his opponents to win the 197-pound bracket and help pace the Builders to the tournament title.

The Builder wrestling team had a successful weekend, winning the 2018 USCAA National Invitational held at Penn State University by a wide margin on Sunday. The 1st place finish was the best for the Builders since last winning the event in 2014. Apprentice won the 13-team event with 182.5 points, followed by familiar foe Alderson Broaddus with 107.5.

The Alfred State wrestling team finished fifth out of 13 teams at the USCAA Championships held at Penn State last Sunday. Four Pioneers placed in the top four in the event.

George Van Valen won the 184-pound weight class with a dominating performance. He pinned Devon Meredith in his quarterfinal match, pinned Sam Soloman (Alderson Broadus) in the semifinals, and earned a 16-0 tech fall over Jake Paulson (Penn State-Behrend) in the finals. Van Valen is now 33-1 on the season.

Cal Poly’s newly-established wrestling club shocked the NCWA field of competitors this past weekend by decisively capturing the California State Championships title. It was only Cal Poly's second tournament in its history.

The women of the Fresno State Wrestling Club edged the Cal State Northridge Matadors for the team title at the California State Championships on Sat., Feb. 10. Fresno State won with a team score of 38.5 points. Kamele Sanchez of Colorado State was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler as the champion at the upper weights by posting a 5-0 record, all by pin. Yaritza Arteaga of Richland College was the champion of the lower weights.

The Glass City Duals to be held on the campus of the University of Toledo on Saturday February 10, 2018 have been postponed due to weather / travel / safety concerns. Attempts are being made to reschedule the event for next weekend on either February 17 or 18.

One medical condition won't define the life of Kent State Tuscarawas freshman Zion Clark.

The wrestler was born with a condition called caudal regression syndrome, a congenital disorder in which there is abnormal fetal development of the lower spine.

“My diagnosis hasn’t really affected my life good or bad, it’s just a day-to-day thing ...” Clark said. “I just kind of figured out how to do a lot of things, like when it comes to riding a bike, I can do it.”

Around age eight, Clark was introduced to a sport that would eventually impact his life forever: wrestling.

Liberty is the new #1 team as they had an impressive National Duals defeating the #8, #1, #3, and #4 seeds to capture the Duals title. Liberty also added several new individuals into the upper rankings which bolstered their lead in the power rankings.

LAS VEGAS - BYU won the first two bouts to gain an 11-0 lead, and then clinched the NCWA Regional Duals by sweeping the last four matches from Colorado State in a 39-10 win. The win is the Cougars' first NCWA title of any kind, and earns six team points that will carry forward into the start of the NCWA Championships next month.

LYNCHBURG, Va. -- No one repeats as the NCWA National Duals champion. No one.

That played out again this year as Liberty won the final six bouts to rally and beat defending champion Emmanuel College, 30-15, for the Duals title and a leg up on the field heading into the NCWA Championships in March. Grand Valley State took third, beating surprising Springfield Tech 28-18.